Report: Merkel aware of Germany refugee agency chaos in 2017

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel is coming under pressure to address allegations that she knew as early as last year about mismanagement in the government office for refugees that came to light recently.

The newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday that it obtained documents showing Merkel was briefed on the issue at the beginning of 2017 by the former head of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.

This week, the interior minister froze asylum decisions in a branch of the refugee department amid allegations it improperly granted hundreds of asylum requests.

The general secretary of the Social Democrats, Merkel's coalition partner, said Sunday that she must explain when she became aware of the problems.

Germany took in more than 1 million refugees and migrants in 2015 and 2016.